The use of radio frequency identification devices (RFID) in tires is gaining in popularity. See for example my issued U.S. Pat. No. 7,504,947. Other devices, including RFID devices, which may be incorporated on a surface of or within the structure of a tire for monitoring various functions relative to the tire include the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,562,787; 5,741,966; 6,062,072; 6,856,245; 6,897,770; 7,009,576; and 7,186,308. The disclosures contained in these patents are incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,009,576 discloses a tire having a radio frequency antenna embedded therein. Since the rubber in which the radio frequency antenna is embedded is in a mixture of rubber and the conductive dielectric material carbon black, the patent discloses the use of an insulating layer, which is attached to the antenna by an adhesive coating, to insulate the antenna from the conductive dielectric rubber. Although U.S. Pat. No. 7,009,576 does not specifically identify the material from which the antenna is manufactured, typically, the antenna will be a conductive metal wire or a thin sheet of metal foil such as copper as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,787 or 6,147,659.
RFID devices for use in tires continues to be a goal in order to provide improved quality and traceability. However, the tire industry has been slow to adopt the RFID devices with their copper antennas. The installation foreign material in a tire is a concern. The ability to provide RFID devices in a tire with minimal component size is an important goal.